upgrading the ldt

[treysoucie]

so i have spare ldt and transmission to go with and i was thinking about trying to upgrade it or modify it and drop it into my truck. do they make aftermarket parts for it? can it be upgraded safely? or should i just sell it and by and 12v or some other motor swap?

 

[islasaero]

How about taking it to a performance shop and have it leaned out (remove some metal) and balanced? Have the head ported and polished to increase flow.

 

[Flyingvan911]

Without doing some metal work about all you can do is turn up the fuel at the injector pump. If you want more power, get an LDS multifuel. They have about 195 horsepower and it shows. You can also get a .69 5th gear for the transmission if you want to go a little faster. Just hit the search box and you'll find some info.

 

[sewerzuk]

so i have spare ldt and transmission to go with and i was thinking about trying to upgrade it or modify it and drop it into my truck. do they make aftermarket parts for it? can it be upgraded safely? or should i just sell it and by and 12v or some other motor swap?

I did a few simple mods to mine that bumped up the power quite a bit; basically added a water/meth injection system, boost and pyro gauges, and turned the fuel up. I'm guessing that I'm pulling close to 190HP with it now. It still won't win any drag races, but it pulls most hills at 55 with no problem (45 for any grades steeper than 6%).
You can read about it here:
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce-...11-all-stuff-i-did-my-deuce-right-here-5.html

 

[treysoucie]

thanks for the info guys. i work at a machine shop so i might be able to swing something

 

[treysoucie]

sewer your truck is awesome.. im into moddifying my deuce as much as i can. How much did you pay for that exhuast shipped to your door? thinking if that bed was rhino lined or matted black along with the wheels your truck would be perfect.

 

[sewerzuk]

sewer your truck is awesome.. im into moddifying my deuce as much as i can. How much did you pay for that exhuast shipped to your door? thinking if that bed was rhino lined or matted black along with the wheels your truck would be perfect.

Thanks!
I only ordered the muffler; can't remember the exact price, but it was under $50. It took me a few hours, a can of header paint, and a few $$ of welding wire to install it.

 

[Billy Bobbed]

I'm more of a gas,alcohol Ford performance person.I would port polish bigger valves in the heads.And find a good cam grinder that may have a better profile for the cam,or that can make you a cam.I stroke a lot of tractor puller cranks.I have a white 478 crankshaft that I would like to add 1/2 to 3/4 more stroke and grind it to fit a lot better rod.But I like the way my truck runs now,plus I dont have an extra enigne to play with.And I dont think I could get the clutch to hold.

 

[mudguppy]

... do they make aftermarket parts for it? ...

no.

... can it be upgraded safely? ...

not really.

... or should i just sell it and by and 12v or some other motor swap?

depends; do you want more and reliable horsepower? if so, then yes. i turned up my LDT to (i'm estimating) 175-185 hp; it ran a lot better........ but it ain't chit compared to 350+ hp from the 5.9 Cummins that's in there now.

i'm just sayin'...

 

[wreckerman893]

An LTD is what it is.

You can't gold plate a turd.

 

[treysoucie]

no.




not really.




depends; do you want more and reliable horsepower? if so, then yes. i turned up my LDT to (i'm estimating) 175-185 hp; it ran a lot better........ but it ain't chit compared to 350+ hp from the 5.9 Cummins that's in there now.

i'm just sayin'...

how are your axles holding up? are you running a dodge tranny or the stock one? what problems did you run into while doing the swap and afterwards?

 

[treysoucie]

Thanks!
I only ordered the muffler; can't remember the exact price, but it was under $50. It took me a few hours, a can of header paint, and a few $$ of welding wire to install it.

this is mine! and thanks for the info

 

[mudguppy]

how are your axles holding up? are you running a dodge tranny or the stock one? what problems did you run into while doing the swap and afterwards?

axles are fine, but i've done no serious wheeling yet. i fully anticipate needing to upgrade shafts.

Dodge/GM hybrid NV4500.

most difficult issues were clearance; fitting the Dodge intercooler and radiator under the stock hood.

the only issue that i've had since the swap has been a driveline vibration. i believe that it's always been there, but i'm noticing it now due to the increase in power and driveline rpm (higher speeds). until recently, i have been thinking that my rear shaft is out of balance. i'm starting to think now that my transfer is bad. none of these issues are swap-related, though.

the only swap-related issue is that i have trouble finding enough reasons to drive it.

 

[Oldfart]

An LTD is what it is.

You can't gold plate a turd.

All right Wreckerman!! That's it with the citizen wisdoms. Firstly, you can gold plate a turd. You can polish a turd as well. Check out the "Mythbusters files." And continuing on, one of the best breakfasts I ever ate was in Dallas Texas at a cafe called "Moms." The second best was at a cafe called "Mom's Daugher's". I sell cars and they call me Red. As to Ace and Slick I only knew them as drag race drivers.

HOWEVER, you are dead on with "an LTD is what it is." Pirate Radio forever!!!!

 

[treysoucie]

axles are fine, but i've done no serious wheeling yet. i fully anticipate needing to upgrade shafts.

Dodge/GM hybrid NV4500.

most difficult issues were clearance; fitting the Dodge intercooler and radiator under the stock hood.

the only issue that i've had since the swap has been a driveline vibration. i believe that it's always been there, but i'm noticing it now due to the increase in power and driveline rpm (higher speeds). until recently, i have been thinking that my rear shaft is out of balance. i'm starting to think now that my transfer is bad. none of these issues are swap-related, though.

the only swap-related issue is that i have trouble finding enough reasons to drive it.

what are your freeway speeds?

 

[islasaero]

I would get the shafts rebalanced. I had a custom driveshaft made for a valiant V8. I was driving at 80mph when I felt vibrations and it poped on me. It lifted the whole rear of the car. I got lucky cause I had front disk brakes so I could quickly come to a stop without the fishtail. Driveline vibration is bad. It will wear out bearings faster then you think.

 

[mudguppy]

what are your freeway speeds?

it's been well above the 70mph speed limit.

but the vibration is real bad at 2500 driveshaft rpm (~65mph) and above combined with generous amounts of throttle. it isn't bad under part throttle.

regardless, i don't drive it above 65 for long at all and try to avoid the vibration altogether until i can get the solution identified.

 

[cjtroutt]

Just up grade the ldt to today standers like the tractor pullers do and all the parts are still able to buy new over the counter.

 

[islasaero]

it's been well above the 70mph speed limit.

but the vibration is real bad at 2500 driveshaft rpm (~65mph) and above combined with generous amounts of throttle. it isn't bad under part throttle.

regardless, i don't drive it above 65 for long at all and try to avoid the vibration altogether until i can get the solution identified.

how about the balance on the engine...harmonic balancer/flywheel/ driveshaft... did you change any of those parts when you did the swap??

 

[mudguppy]

nothing on the engine was changed - a 5.9 cummins is good for 4k rpm from the factory. after that, a fluid-dampr balancer is required because of it's harmonic resonance at 4200 rpm.

the engine/flywheel/trans where kept consistant from the donor vehicle where this vibration was not present. so the vibration is at the transfer/driveshaft. i believe this issue was always present, just never as pronounced because of the power/rpm limitations of before.